NO FAKES Act of 2026
Key claim: This House bill would give people a federal right to control AI-generated copies of their voice or appearance, letting them sue over unauthorized digital replicas, demand takedowns, and keep most existing state claims, with exceptions for news, sports, and satire.
Abstract
(HR8915 · 119th Congress) Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2026 or the NO FAKES Act of 2026 This bill creates a federal intellectual property right to protect individuals from unauthorized digital replicas (e.g., digital content made using generative artificial intelligence) of their voice and visual likeness. Specifically, the bill gives each individual or right holder the right to authorize the use of the individual’s voice or visual likeness (1) in a digital replica, or (2) for a product or service requiring authorization to avoid liability under the bill. This property right is not assignable during the individual’s lifetime but is licensable and does not expire upon the death of the individual. Generally, any individual or entity that engages in specified prohibited activities (e.g., distributing a digital replica without authorization) shall be liable in a civil action and subject to related penalties. The bill exempts specified uses from liability, such as categories of conduct likely to involve protected speech under the First Amendment (e.g., news reporting, sports broadcasts, and satire). The bill establishes (1) a notice-and-takedown process for unauthorized digital replicas; and (2) a counter-notification process, which allows an individual to contest the removal of a digital replica. The bill establishes penalties related to false or deceptive notice or counter-notice. The bill expressly preempts state laws related to digital replicas except for causes of action under state statutes or common law in existence as of January 2, 2025. Latest action (2026-05-20): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Why this matters
A House-side NO FAKES vehicle signals bicameral momentum for a federal digital-replica right, which would materially change what performers, private individuals, and estates can do when their voice or image is cloned by generative AI. The bill’s explicit news/sports/satire carveouts and partial preservation of state publicity law also preview the First Amendment and federalism fights that will shape any enacted version.